Type of visas

You may find info about all type of visas here

Requirements to visit El Salvador
Requirements to apply for temporary Residence as investor

According to article 11 of the Investment Law, foreign people with an investment of over four thousand minimum wages at the date of their investment shall be entitled to receive an Investors Residence, to stay and work in the country.

All no Salvadorans require working permits to perform remunerated jobs in El Salva dor, including citizens from Central America. This working permit is officially called a Temporary Residency with Authorization to Work. The working permits are issued only if the foreigner has a job offer in El Salvador. According to the law, they cannot begin their job until the Department of Immigration has issued them the Temporary Residency with Authorization to Work.

It is highly recommended that all workers that come to El Salvador to work,
bring along with them the following documents:

  • A good conduct or police records certificate issued by the Police Department
    of the citizen's country of origin or from the country he/she has resided the last two years;
  • A birth certificate;
  • A job title o university certificate.

These documents are required in order to obtain a temporary working residence permit by the Salvadoran Department of Immigration. Also, please take note that all these documents must be dully authenticated or bearing the apostille.

Spouses of foreigners must apply for a Temporary Residency as well. The spouse usually applies to one called Temporary Residency for Spouses Accompanying a Foreign Worker in El Salvador. In this case, the permit allows the spouse to reside in our country only (no working allowed). On the other hand, if the spouse also has a job offer, the person will have to apply for a Temporary Residency with Authorization to Work. Should the spouse apply initially for the "accompanying" permit and later have a job offer, the person will be able to switch to a Temporary Residency with Authorization to Work following some legal and migratory issues.

Should the person bring along their kids, they would apply for a permit called Temporary Residency of Family of Foreign Worker in El Salvador.

Immigration central offices are located at Edificio de Gobernación, Centro de Gobierno, San Salvador.
Their web site (available only in Spanish) is: www.gobernacion.gob.sv/eGobierno/Direcciones/DGME
and the telephone number +(503) 2233-7700

Authenticate or Apostille a document

To authenticate or apostille a document in El Salvador, it is necessary to bring it to the Salvadoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Centro de Gobierno, Building 4, 1st Floor, from Monday through Friday. The telephone number is 2231-1000, extension 1336. The apostille is free and the cost to authenticate a Salvadoran signature is $5.00 and a foreign signature is $20.00, per document.

The Apostille

The convention of October 5th, 1961 abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents brought about a basic simplification of the series of formalities which complicated the use of public documents outside of the countries from which they emanated.

The well-known chain of authentications of documents was a slow and costly procedure.

The Convention reduces all of the formalities of legalization to the simple delivery of a certificate in a prescribed form, entitled "Apostille", by the authorities of the State where the document originates. This certificate, placed on the document or on a slip of paper attached there is dated, numbered and registered.

The countries that have ratified, or declared themselves bound by the Convention: here.
Basic mandatory requirements for establishing a business in El Salvador, here.